So...Lord Sean is Lady Gloria's...First Cousin, the Royal Family of Viola Strierra had suffered from the typical bad habits of royal families and Lady Gloria herself was struggling to break this cycle as we shall see in this chapter, I remember when being read my Beatrix Potter books and how in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies it starts by saying Benjamin Bunny married his cousin Flopsy even as a kid I was like 'Wait, isn't that illeagal?' my parents told me that it was OK in that time and place and even today in Japan cousin marriages are still legal as I learned when looking up the Japanese Light Novel Kanon so this is a big fat gray area for Humanity
Edward had risen from his seat and had his back turned to everyone, his wife Minsk the Mink-Woman went over and laid her hands on her husband's back
"You were only a child back then..." She said soothingly "...You didn't even participate in capturing any Humanimals yourself back then!"
Edward gave a shakey sigh "I know..." He said "...But I know why Marzipan ended up on Alderbaren when the rest of her family was taken to Viola Strierra...The raid on Mizzer was done in partnership with Duke Vortex and his soldiers...We told them because only the ruling elites can have Humanimal slaves they could only have two percent of the entire Humanimal Population, Duke Vortex agreed and the Alderbaren's took for themselves all the the Denizens of the Wild Districts of the 'Green Valley' as it seemed to be called how convenient that the Humanimals divided themselves so neatly into segregated districts! They took everything from the Woodland and Tropical Mammal, the Bird and Reptile Amphibian Districts of Bluebell and the Surrounding towns, leaving us the Domestic Cats and Dogs and the Livestock, since Marzipan was found in the Woodland Mammal District and because of her Pink and Purple Fur she was seen as rare and exotic, she got lumped in with the rest of what Alderbaren took for itself."
The Fellowship had learned that part of the reason for the invasion of Mizzer was because, Viola Strierra in particular found itself with not just a shortage of Humanimal Slaves but specifically the wild and exotic animals that were so popular, domestic cats and dogs are a dime a dozen but nothing makes a human feel big like being waited on hand and foot by a tiger or an elephant.
Having regained some of his composure, Edward wiped away his tears, and went over to Marzipan, kneeling on one knee like a Knight, "Marzipan..." He said solemnly "...To make up for all the years of sorrow and misery my people brought to you, I pledge to you I will do whatever I can to be of service to your mission...As the former Prince I swear to bring down my former kingdom!"
He rose "I know it will not be easy..." He said gravely "...I know my Mother has a deep hatred toward Humanimals because her mother, my grandmother was killed in a Humanimal slave revolt when she was only five years old!"
Edward Nygma realized how little he knew about Gloria.
Lady Gloria and Edward Nygma married when she was barely more than a teenager and he was fresh out of college, They were only married for a few months, and Gloria never told Nygma she was a Princess or that she was going to have his son, Gloria had only a short amount of time to find a husband or else she would have to marry her cousin Lord Sean, who had numerous health problems and she wasn't sure he could even have children, During a trip to Earth, she had been enchanted by Nygma's charm and wit and she sort of rushed him into marriage, she wanted him to rule by her side, but he was obsessed with becoming a video game developer, she saw his early designs for 'The Riddle of the Minotaur' game over the course of a few months she started seeing the problems in his mental health, she could see he still had issues stemming from unresolved trauma of his childhood with his violent father, and he seemed to be touchy about the very fact he might have a problem, refusing the suggestion of seeking help while Gloria left long before Nygma became the Riddler she could see the unhealthy patterns developing, so she divorced/seperated (Before the Humanimal Civil Rights movement on First Earth, the rules for such things had become a bit...Fuzzy) The fact that Nygma shrugged it off seemed to no longer care about her was proof just how far gone he already was.
So she had to marry Lord Sean anyway, but the fact that her son bore Nygma's blood instead of Sean's to her seemed to make it all worthwhile, she would always remember the Nygma who charmed her that's who she loved so she named her Son Edward in honor of that love.
Nygma realized he had to take part in this quest to Viola Strierra, partly as a way of redeeming himself for his crimes also...Perhaps to see for himself what kind of life he might have led if he had become Gloria's consort, if nothing else Nygma's curosity was still with him after he had reformed, he just had to know...
So if you haven't watched Batman the Animated Series you probobly won't know the trivia bits dropped in, like Riddle of the Minotaur is a video game Riddler created in that series and in Riddler's Reform he has a nasty reaction to being called 'Crazy' hence why Gloria felt the need to leave him for her and her child's safety
